Distributed Energy Systems in the US Will Become Mainstream

The market share for distributed PV power systems in the U.S. has been rising significantly, thanks to their dropping rates, enlarged capacities, and improving efficiency, according to a recent report from Berkeley Lab’s.

The growth of the distributed PV system’s popularity can be attributed to the incentives of self-power supply and savings on power bills. These incentives have gradually prevailed over the considerations of their installation costs, which have been in a constant decline. As of now, the overall number of distributed PV power systems in the U.S. has already topped two million.

In 2018, the overall installation cost for the US’s residential PV power systems had dropped to approximately US$3.7 per watt without the help of any incentives or subsidies from the government. The overall costs of the small non-residential systems and large-scale systems in the country had also declined to around US$3 and US$2.4, respectively. The downward trend for the installation costs, which includes those for the PV power modules, inverters, and installation engineering, was originally spotted in 2000.

The surge of the US’s PV power system installations has managed to stimulate the overall demands for energy storage systems significantly. The installations for these systems are essential for the maintenance of the country’s stable power supply, especially in the nighttime and on occasions when the inverters would cut off the PV power current due to the malfunctioning of the grid, repair and maintenance, and disasters. The installations of the energy storage systems will be especially critical for the PV power systems at hospitals and factories.

By the end of 2028, it is estimated that the world’s diversified energy storage systems will reach 19,878 MW in scale, which is approximately 20 times higher than the existing level. The major markets for energy storage systems include countries like Germany, Japan, China, the U.S. and the U.K., which together accounts for 78% of the global market.